Endings and Beginnings
by authorjazmyne
Summary: Hobbs/Raydor Sharon and Andrea bring in the new year together.


**A/N:** So someone asked for a NYE drabble... but word limits and me never really get along. So this is way longer than a drabble, but hopefully still enjoyable. Happy New Year!

Andrea doesn't normally spend New Year's Eve celebrating with anybody. She has no special traditions, never really did anything to celebrate the end of the year or the beginning of a new one. The past two or three years she hadn't even been awake when the new year came in. But this year Andrea's surrounded by people – loud, joyous people with glasses of sparkling wine or cider in their hands. This year Sharon had asked Andrea if she would like to come with her to a New Year's Eve celebration at her friend's art gallery downtown, and Andrea had stammered over her answer when she told Sharon she would love to come with her.

Of course Sharon, who remembered the exact date their friendship started blossoming, the night they spent three hours talking over desserts and hot drinks in a French place that had cleared out without them noticing until the staff was cleaning around them, and brought Andrea back there ten years later and ordered exactly what they had ordered that night, would celebrate on New Year's Eve. She made a celebration out of everything, and while Andrea wasn't nearly as festive as Sharon, she could not deny that she found Sharon's sense of occasion endearing. And Andrea jumped on any chance given to spend time with the lovely woman who she'd been captivated by for as long as she could remember, the woman she'd been enamored with for years.

Andrea had stepped away from Sharon when someone she knew came over to speak to her. She had been at Sharon's side all night, close enough to smell the light floral scent of her perfume at times. They had walked side by side at first, talking about the art, discussing pieces they really liked. Then, naturally, the conversation had rolled into other topics and they'd moved closer to each other. Sharon's hand had brushed against her arm at one point and sent an electric jolt through her body, making her breath catch as she forced herself not to visibly shiver. And then she had placed that same hand on Andrea's back and left it there, guiding her to a large painting they stood in front of as Sharon's thumb absently rubbed her back and she did all the speaking. Because Andrea hadn't been able to breathe, let alone think of anything intelligible to say. It was then, when she felt her body pressing back into Sharon's hand and waves of intoxicating heat pushing through her, that Sharon's friend had come over and Andrea excused herself.

Now she was on the roof where few people were, the cool air refreshing after feeling as though a fire had been burning inside her. The wind whipped around her as she leaned against the ledge, her nearly empty champagne flute dangling over the edge. The year had been a good one, she thought with a soft breath. The wind blew against her face and through her loose hair again, and Andrea reached up to tuck it behind her ear but a soft hand beat her to it.

"I was looking for you," Sharon said as she brushed her fingers over Andrea's ear and then pulled away, smiling nervously at her.

Andrea's heart did this thing whenever they stood close like this, this thing where it stopped, skipping a beat, and then started racing. Andrea smiled back at Sharon for a second and then looked away, out to the blanket of darkness with lights that glowed yellow and gold like fireflies in the woods. Sharon leaned against the ledge beside her, and their shoulders touched, warm and solid through their jackets. They stayed there in companionable silence until there was a loud noise behind them and they turned to see people starting to come through the door and onto the roof.

"Fireworks must be about to begin," Andrea said, turning her back to the tipsy people filling the rooftop. Sharon hummed and turned as well, looking at Andrea. Andrea tilted her head to the woman beside her, raising her brow slowly. "Something on your mind?"

Sharon licked her lips and cleared her throat. "Before you left me down there–"

"Sorry about that," Andrea interrupted. "I didn't mean to seem rude or anything. I just thought you might want to have the chance to talk to someone other than me, and I needed a bit of fresh air. I was going–"

Sharon placed her hand on Andrea's arm and laughed, shaking her head. "Andrea, I was only going to say that I was having a really nice time with you."

"Oh," Andrea breathed. Her eyes moved away from Sharon's face and to the woman's hand still on her arm, holding, squeezing a little. This happened so often now, the touching, the shared space; it made her feel warm on the inside. Sharon seemed to realize what she was doing and went to quickly move it away, but Andrea moved faster and placed her hand on top of Sharon's and stopped her from doing so. "So was I," she said quietly, lifting her eyes to look into Sharon's.

Sharon pressed her lips together tightly and dipped her head for a second, and then she rolled her shoulders and straightened her back. "Andrea," she started out strongly, but she was interrupted by the sound of people loudly counting down.

It wasn't just behind them, it was everywhere around them. Across from them on another rooftop people were racing out through a door wearing clothes that shimmered in the night; down below people were laughing and joining in on the countdown. It was like the city was coming alive. Everywhere around them people were starting to cheer and couple up as the last few seconds of the year ticked away. But Andrea's heart beat louder than all of it, pounding in her ears as she saw Sharon's eyes drop down to her mouth before a deep blush further crossed her already flushed cheeks.

Ten, nine, eight, seven...

Andrea placed her champagne glass down and turned her body into Sharon's and took Sharon's empty hand into her own, trying to ignore the nervousness that fluttered wildly in her belly.

Six, five...

Sharon's eyes looked down to their hands and she shifted so their palms were touching and their fingers wrapped around the side of each other's hand, the tips of Sharon's fingers cool on her warmer skin.

Four...

"I'm–"

Three...

"Sharon–"

Two...

They laughed nervous sounding sounds as they both tried speaking. Their eyes locked and Andrea could see the question in Sharon's eyes, the hesitation, but also the twinkling joy that made the green sparkle beautifully.

One...

Andrea tilted her head. Sharon leaned forward, just a little.

Happy New Year!

When it happened, Andrea couldn't say for sure which one of them had made the final move. But their lips met with a delicate pressure and fireworks went off, bursting bright and loud in the sky and in Andrea's mind as Sharon smiled against her mouth. It was a small kiss that lasted a second longer than Andrea had expected it would. But in that moment everything else seized to exist, the crowds of people, the cheering, the festivities. Sharon hummed and pulled back to look at her with eyes full of warmth and tender emotions, and Andrea knew she was staring back at Sharon with all the love she had had for the other woman for so long that she could barely remember a time that she did not feel such strong feelings for her.

Sharon rubbed her lips together and then let out another sound from her throat, this time a little laugh that crackled down Andrea's spine as Sharon pulled her hands from Andrea's so she could wrap her arms around her. "Happy New Year, Andrea," she whispered into her ear, pulling her into a long hug that Andrea felt her body sink into.

"Happy New Year," she repeated, smiling.

The end. Thanks for reading.


End file.
